Report: Washington Putting Finishing Touches on Peace Plan

The Trump administration’s peace plan for the Middle East, in the works for many months, is now almost finished, and officials are putting the finishing touches on it.

The report, carried in The New York Times, appeared at odds with a statement attributed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the Israeli media on Sunday: “At the moment, there is no concrete American peace plan on the table. I’m not saying there won’t be, but at the moment there isn’t.”

However, three senior American officials who were interviewed said that the plan is nearing completion.

They would not disclose details, but said that it would not contain a set of broad guiding principles, as in the case of proposals made by previous administrations. Comparing it to the Waze traffic navigation software which enables users to bypass traffic jams, the framers have sought to avoid the traps into which their predecessors have fallen. This time, the plan will offer specific solutions to the issues of borders, security, refugees and the status of Yerushalayim.

In keeping with set policy, they would not say when the plan might be ready for presentation.

However, it will not explicitly endorse either the two-state solution, or the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Accordingly, the officials reportedly expect the Israelis and Palestinians to accept some of the items and reject others.